Incidence and survival in patients with pharyngeal cancer in northern Finland

A population-based survey was conducted in northern Finland in order to study the incidence rate and survival in patients with pharyngeal cancer diagnosed between 1986 to 1996. A total of 95 new patients with hypopharyngeal, oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal cancers were identified. The overall age-adjusted incidence rates (per 100,000 years) were 1.28 in men and 0.60 in women, giving an overall incidence rate of 0.89. Most of the tumours were diagnosed at stage IV, and the median disease-specific survival times were 27.6 months for the patients with oropharyngeal cancer, 13.5 months for nasopharyngeal cancer and 17.7 for hypopharyngeal cancer. The most important factors that were associated with a poor prognosis were stage IV in oropharyngeal [Hazard ratio (HR) 3.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.97-13.92] and hypopharyngeal cancer (HR 3.99, CI 1.51-10.67) and age over 65 years in nasopharyngeal cancer (HR 9.28, CI 1.79-47.99).     

Herpes simplex virus type 1 infection induces upregulation of interleukin-23 (p19) mRNA expression in trigeminal ganglia of BALB/c mice.

We investigated the expression kinetics of several cytokines in trigeminal ganglia (TG) and in brains of BALB/c mice during the course of ocular herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection. All mice recovered from the infection within 2 weeks. The quantitative rapid real-time RT-PCR method was used to analyze interleukin-4 (IL-4), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), IL-12p35, IL-12p40, and the recently described IL-23 (p19) mRNA in TG, brain, and splenocyte samples. In TG, we found elevated expression of mRNA for IL-23 (p19) from early acute infection (day 3) to the beginning of the latent phase (day 14). The increase was not detected in brain or in the spleen. IL-4 expression occurred in both TG and brain from the beginning of the experiment to the latent phase. During the latent phase (days 14 and 31), IL-4 expression was significantly elevated in the brain when compared with the uninfected controls (p < 0.05). Considerable expression of IFN-gamma mRNA was detected in TG of mice during acute HSV-1 infection. The expression of IL-23 was detected also in the brains of the mice, even though no significant changes were found during the acute HSV-1 infection. This is, to our knowledge, the first report to show elevated expression of IL-23 (p19) mRNA (p < 0.05) during viral infection in TG of mice.     

Chronic kidney disease impairs prognosis in electrical storm

Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology - The study sought to assess the prognostic impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with electrical storm (ES). ES represents a...     

Quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia: validation and psychometric properties of the German Quality of Life Scale (QOLS-G)

Our objectives were to translate the Quality of Life Scale (QOLS) into German and to evaluate its reliability and validity for the use in patients with fibromyalgia (FMS). Together with German versions of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), the SF-36, a tender point count (TPC) and other questionnaires, we administered the QOLS to 146 patients with FMS. Patients were asked about the severity of pain today (VAS) and the duration of symptoms. Test-retest reliability was assessed using Spearman's correlations. Internal consistency was evaluated with Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity of the QOLS was evaluated by correlating the QOLS with the FIQ, the SF-36, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R) as well as with the pain variables. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was also conducted. Mean age was 53.1?years. Means were for pain today 6.8 and for duration of symptoms 11.8?years. Test-retest reliability for the total QOLS was rho?=?.91. Internal consistency was α?=?.90. Low-to-moderate correlations were obtained between the QOLS and the total FIQ (rho?=?-.42**), the SF-36 (e.g. physical functioning rho?=?.37**; mental health rho?=?.56**) as well as the pain variables (VAS rho?=?-.11?ns; TPC rho?=?-.20*). Psychological variables were moderately to substantially correlated with the QOLS (e.g. BDI rho?=?-.61**). An EFA suggested a three-factor solution. The QOLS-G is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring quality of life in German patients with FMS.     

Blood Pressure Measurement Device,Number and Timing of Visits,and Intra‐Individual Visit‐to‐Visit Variability of Blood Pressure

J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2012;14:744–750. ©2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Visit‐to‐visit variability (VVV) of blood pressure is associated with cardiovascular disease. The authors examined the effects of visit number and timing and automated or manual measurement device on VVV in the placebo arm of the Trial of Preventing Hypertension (TROPHY) (N=225) and simulations. VVV was assessed using intra‐individual standard deviation (SD), range, maximum, coefficient of variation, successive variation, and average real variability of systolic blood pressure. VVV increased with number of visits used to calculate it in the TROPHY population (P for trend <.05 for all metrics) and simulations. Using consecutive visits in TROPHY, average SD was 5.6 mm Hg from 3 visits, 6.8 mm Hg from 7 visits, and 7.7 mm Hg from 18 visits. When 7 visits were spread out across 4 years, the average SD was higher (7.5 mm Hg) than when visits were consecutive over 18 months (P<.001). SD was higher using a single blood pressure measurement per visit (compared with the mean of 3 measurements per visit P<.001) and with automated vs manual devices (P<.001). In summary, number and timing of visits and device used to measure blood pressure influence VVV and need to be considered when designing, interpreting, and comparing studies.